Packaging
Drying Plant Capacity Upgrade
Thursday 05. March 2009 - The customer was a dairy processor in Bangpoo, Thailand. The plant was producing 7 tonnes/day of high quality coffee whitener for the local market.
Problem
Although the plant was only a year old, demand for the product had increased dramatically. The quality of the product was unique and well liked by its customers. The company was concerned that to build another plant would have been expensive and it might be impossible to replicate precisely the taste of the original product. The only option, therefore, was to increase the capacity of the existing plant.
Objective
The objective was to increase output by over 50% from 7 tonnes/day to 11 tonnes/day without buying new plant or expanding the site itself. This would have to be achieved through plant efficiencies. Most importantly the whole process would have to be completed quickly and with the minimum of disruption to the current production.
Solution
GEA Niro had supplied the original plant so was asked to perform a feasibility study to establish whether the objectives were achievable. The study included a full analysis of the existing processes and simulations of the likely effects of the proposed modification based on experience. The study also assessed the performance of the existing plant and identified any bottlenecks that would inhibit further development.
Having identified the problem areas and the most appropriate solutions, GEA Niro engineers worked with the customer to establish the best division of labour giving due consideration to levels of expertise and time considerations. The work was split into three general areas: increasing the heating capacity; increasing the feed volume and density; rebuilding the dryer to cope with the increased demand.
Specialist heating engineers were contracted to re-calibrate and adjust the existing heaters to perform better. This had the desired effect of increasing the heating capacity of the drying air from 175°C to 225°C. This would provide the necessary energy to dry the anticipated increased flow rate of feed material.
The customer optimised the feed mixing plant by maximising the performance of all the elements of the plant – including mixers, agitators, pumps, etc. – by the recalibration of instruments and re-assessing optimum operational speeds. The customer also increased the solids content of the feed from 70% solids to 74%. This, along with an increased feed volume, would create the required production level.
GEA Niro engineers then re-built the dryer itself expanding the number of feed nozzles from 10 to 15 and adjusting the fluid dynamics to prevent product from sticking to the walls of the dryer and reducing output. This resulted in a flow rate increase of 30% which, coupled with the increased viscosity of the feed, increased the output from 7 tonnes to 11 tonnes as required.
The optimising of the flow characteristics within the dryer prevented product from sticking to the walls increasing the time between clean-in-place cycles from 30 days to 45 days thereby saving approximately 100 hours production a year in cleaning time alone and helping to maintain dryer efficiency.
The drying process was completed on a VIBRO-FLUIDIZER to condition the powder to provide ideal flow characteristics. This area of the plant was also rebuilt to increase the cooling ability to ensure that the powder was kept at a temperature of less than 30°C thereby preventing clogging.
The entire process to expand the production capacity of the plant was completed in 6 months.
Why GEA Niro?
GEA Niro is the world’s leading supplier of drying equipment for the dairy industry and a member of the GEA Group. The company has the technical ability, experience and engineering expertise to enhance the performance of any plant or adjust it to meet the changing needs of the market. Through its global after-sales network GEA Niro has the ability to provide continuing maintenance, spare parts, emergency back up and on-going support for all its customers worldwide.